Demolition of a rock-covered rooftop villa on a 26-story Beijing apartment block began on Thursday, three days after it was ruled illegal by urban patrol officers and ordered to be removed.
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Workers began pulling down the villa in the morning. It was adorned with trees and bushes and covered more than 800 square meters in Haidian district.
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The authorities sent experts to guide and supervise the demolition to ensure the rest of the building was not affected, according to a statement released by Haidian chengguan, or urban patrol officers.
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On Monday, Zhang Biqing, the owner, was ordered to dismantle the decorations and building on top of the apartments in the Renji Shanzhuang community within 15 days, according to a notice issued by Haidian chengguan.
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Chengguan said Zhang promised to demolish the illegal building on time when they contacted him by phone while he was on a trip to Yunnan province.
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Zhang told China Daily the illegal part of the building only occupied 40 to 50 square meters. He built a mound, dotted with artificial rocks and greenery, to solve a problem with the kitchen exhaust pipe system, built on the top of the apartment.
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He said he had little knowledge about the legal process involved in obtaining approval for the project when the work started in 2007.
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Zhang confirmed there was a swimming pool above the apartment, but said it was only there to make use of the space and was relatively small, occupying about 10 sq m.
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The Mirror newspaper reported that Zhang hired the same team of workers who built the house in 2007 for the demolition.
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Many of his neighbors had complained about lavish rooftop add-ons since 2007. They later said Zhang also liked to play loud music and sing late at night.
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Lan Bing, whose family used to live on the 26th floor near Zhang's house, said in a statement on Thursday that her father had been beaten three times by Zhang during disputes about the illegal construction.
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Zhang had told the media that he paid Lan's family 100,000 yuan ($16,400) in compensation, but Lan dismissed this.
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"Up to now, our family has not received any compensation from Zhang," Lan said on Thursday.
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As the demolition began, a poster was hung in the community by a resident, stating, "We support the exposure of this case and we ask for an investigation into the departments and people who are responsible for the illegal building."
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Guan Dongsheng, who lives on the 12th floor of the block, said, "The most dangerous part was the swimming pool, which placed heavy pressure on the apartment building."
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Photographs and videos of the swimming pool were released on Thursday.
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Pictures of the villa were uploaded onto a micro blog this month, triggering a public outcry, with many Internet users also questioning Zhang's claim that he was a doctor qualified to treat patients.
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Beijing's industry and commerce administration has also investigated acupuncture clinic chains founded by Zhang.
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A spokeswoman for the administration said it will release the investigation result on Friday.Â